BMC certain COVID-19 spread chain is broken

In the last three weeks, six new wards have recorded a doubling rate of more than hundred days

Now that the number of COVID19 cases in all its 24 wards has dipped, Brihan-Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has assured that it has been able to break the chain of its transmission. Af ter unlocking began in June, the number of cases had started to spike, especially in the suburban belt of north Mumbai. With time, more cases were detected in high rises, again. In the last three weeks, as many as six new BMC wards have recorded a doubling rate of more than hundred days. Till date, there are seven wards that have a doubling rate of more than hundred days.

"The increase in doubling rate in these wards depicts that the spread has been contained and now it's safe to state that the chain of spread has been broken," Parag Masurkar, deputy municipal commissioner (DMC) told the Free Press Journal. Among these wards, KE, KW, ME and PN wards were earlier known as the wards with highest number of cases in Mumbai. PN had the highest number of active in June and July.

"Mumbai has unlocked itself almost completely. There are people going out on the roads now, markets are now open and malls have also started to function. But there has been no significant growth in the number of cases, which clearly states that the chain has been broken," stated Masurkar. "We expected a rise in the number of cases, as people have begun going out. This, however, didn't happen, which is why the spread has become really slow," he added. The civic body, in June, had launched a Mission Zero campaign to conduct aggressive door to door testing in the suburban belt of the city. Officials have credited the campaign to be the main reason that led to the reduced growth rate. "The campaign has helped us to chase the virus. With aggressive door to door testing we were able to trace the high risk contacts and put them into quarantine much faster," stated DMC Masurkar. Highlighting the steps taken in the slum areas, civic officials stated that though the number of cases in the slums was low, they continued to keep an eye on these areas. "The slum areas were not out of sight of the BMC even though cases were low. Regular monitoring was done by health officials to ensure the cases don't rise. Because slums are congested and the chances of spread is obvious," he said.